Erias Lukwago, the legal representative of Francis Zaake, the Member of Parliament for Mityana Municipality, is contesting the authenticity of the evidence presented by the Parliament's Hansard department.
Lukwago alleges that the records from the Parliament's Hansard have been altered from the actual words spoken in the video.
This development occurred as the legal team representing the embattled Mityana Municipality legislator began cross-examining the witnesses in the case. Zaake is facing accusations of misconduct during a parliamentary session that took place on December 7, 2022.
Lukwago has also called for the production and cross-examination of the staff responsible for the Hansard records on that day. However, the Editor of Hansard at Parliament has claimed not to know the identities of the particular staff involved.
"The Clerk to Parliament requested the Editor of Hansard to provide the names of the staff responsible for recording the parliamentary proceedings on that day, but the Editor stated that he was unaware of their identities," Lukwago stated.
"What is particularly concerning is that they initially claimed to possess two videos, but today they mentioned having three videos. This suggests that they may have realized inconsistencies in their videos, some of which had no audio, while others captured events outside the parliamentary chambers. It seems they are now on a fishing expedition for evidence that may not even exist," Lukwago added.
Zaake expressed no surprise upon learning that the Police commander who was supposed to testify had been replaced by Okoto Charles, the former DPC of Butaleja.
"Furthermore, the head of the Hansard Department, who testified about what the Hansard records reflected regarding the alleged misconduct, disclaimed knowledge of which of his subordinates produced the specific Hansard," he noted.
In 2022, Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, referred Zaake to the Parliamentary Committee on Rules, Discipline, and Privileges for his alleged misconduct.
Zaake had attempted to reopen a debate on the abduction of opposition supporters, reportedly by state security forces, after the House had already reached a resolution, which was in violation of parliamentary rules.
The committee also intends to investigate defamation allegations against Zaake.
Tayebwa recently referred Zaake to the same committee for investigation following accusations of defamatory remarks made towards Juliet Kinyamatama during an event in her constituency on Independence Day.
Kinyamatama, the Rakai District Woman MP, accused Zaake of defaming her and using offensive language. She requested that the video recording of the incident be played in the House, leading to protests and a temporary suspension of the House.
After a break, a vote was held, and it was decided that the video should be played in the House, with Makerere University tasked with providing an English translation of the recording.
The committee has been given 45 days to present its report on the matter.
This incident marks the third disciplinary action taken against Zaake, following previous consequences for criticizing the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, on social media and being dismissed from his role as a parliamentary commissioner. However, Zaake challenged this decision in court, and it was ultimately overturned.